Alex Gonzalez earned himself a valuable pair of singles, as the Red Sox checked off their seventh victory in just eight days, against the Los Angeles Angels, 9-8.
Watching A-Gonz at the center of the home plate pig-pile still takes some getting used to, but after almost 80 hits in nearly 100 games with the Sox this season, Gonzalez has found his place back in Boston, knocking in a two-run single as part of a five run sixth inning, and then again with the walk-off single to end the game.
With the Red Sox trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth, Angels’ closer Brian Fuentes made quick work of Jason Bay and Mike Lowell before falling apart, allowing four straight base-runners (two on singles, two on walks). The table was set, and Alex Gonzalez was the one that came to dinner.
Paul Byrd’s pitch count continues to be an issue, as the starter threw 54 pitches in just his first three innings of work — allowing for nine hits and three earned runs in his 5.1 innings. Joe Saunders kept the Red Sox subdued until the wheels fell off in the sixth, resulting in eight hits and two earned runs after 5.2 frames.
Tonight’s ” ‘Good Eye’ Doesn’t Always Pertain to the Kid Who is Afraid to Swing the Bat” Award goes to Alex Gonzalez, not for his walk-off or the two-RBI single earlier. Instead, it’s a congratulatory note for taking his first walk in 96 at-bats (that .265 OBP certainly tells that tale well).
Next Game: Thurs 9/17 vs. LA Angels – Josh Beckett / Ervin Santana
8 Comments to “BOS 9, LAA 8: A-Gonz and Done It Again”
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[...] the advantage Fenway provides, and the Angels do, too. Remember when the Angels came to town and Boston pulled off a stirring win at the hands of Brian Fuentes? Fuentes even said that he felt the umpires were influenced by the [...]
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Nice Stuff Jake. Love the awards. Its been too long since A-Gon drew a walk.
“after almost 80 hits in nearly 100 games” Huh? He’s had 29 hits in 28 games.
I really don’t get your posts. How can you take issue with Paul Byrd gutting his way into the 6th inning having given up only 3 runs? All you can ask of a guy like that is to give the team a chance and he did that.
I don’t know if I’m the only one, but did it seem to me that Juan Rivera had a chance to catch that ball of Gonzalez’s but sort of lolly-gagged and gave up on it? When it came off the bat I thought we’d lost, but I am sure happy for the win.
^^^^I have the same thought. Mike Socia should take issue with LF instead of the umps.
He did seem to quit on that ball, but that pitch to Green was clearly a strike. I can’t blame anyone for being upset about it.
Totally agree that he should be upset about the umpiring (although I do get a huge kick out of watching Mike Scoscia smolder…he is one of my least-favorite managers), but the fact of the matter is that if Rivera put in an ounce of effort we’d have been in extra innings and the Angels would have been facing the Boston C-team.